Queenstown helicopter pilot hears about skydivers' crash, puts rescue plan into action

Thursday, 11 January 2018

Kate and Philip Rive, of Cecil Peak Station, pulled a tandem skydiving instructor from the water. They could not find the other man.

A helicopter pilot and a farming couple have been credited with saving a jumpmaster's life after tandem skydivers plunged into a Queenstown lake.

Thanks to their actions, the instructor survived with 'minor bruises' and was back doing yoga on Thursday. The trio are disappointed they could not save the other man.

The Cecil Peak boat used to rescue a tandem skydiver master after he and another man crash-landed in Lake Wakatipu.

Wanaka pilot James Ford heard about the skydiving accident over the radio as he was flying near Lake Wakatipu about 1.40pm on Wednesday.

Ford called Cecil Peak Station farmer Philip Rive, who was working nearby, and flew him to the boat.

Wanaka helicopter pilot James Ford heard about a skydive crash on the heard and flew over a friend with a boat to the scene within 20 minutes.

'I didn't know what I was going to, but I knew I had to go as fast as I could.

'It's a cold lake and you just want to get them out, don't you?' Ford said.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission lead investigator Barry Stevenson is trying to work out what caused the NZone skydive tandem crash on Wednesday.

Rive and his wife, Kate, who drove the boat, pulled the tandem master from the water just before 2pm.

'I knew we would need two of us. I grabbed the fella in the water and she helped me pull him in. As you could imagine he was quite heavy,' Rive said.

NZone executive director Anthony Ritter said the company was devastated by the fatal crash.

'He's been though a bit of an ordeal. He's been floating in the water for a while and had waves breaking over his head and if you could only imagine what the poor bugger was going through.'

They retrieved two suits and a helmet from the lake. There was no sign of the second skydiver.

Inspector Olaf Jensen speaks about the search for a tandem skydiving customer missing in Lake Wakatipu. First published in January 2010.

'I asked him [tandem master] where the other person was… but he didn't really respond. He swallowed a lot of water and things were not that great.'

Not being able to save the man in the water was a tragedy, Rive said.

'I feel for the family of the person who is still in the lake and I feel for the company that was operating at a time because no-one wants this thing to happen.'

Searchers on Lake Wakatipu on Wednesday look for a missing person after a tandem skydiving pair crashed into the lake.

Ford said he was 'highly disappointed' they could not find the second skydiver.

'I would love loved to found a second person, but we unfortunately could not,' he said.

Twelve boats, two planes, a helicopter and a jetski searched for the missing man on Wednesday.

The instructor suffered only with 'minor bruises' and was back doing yoga on Thursday.

Extensive searches on Wednesday failed to find the missing tandem skydiver, an overseas traveller in his 20s, who is presumed dead.

'The amount of people who turned up as quick as they could with their boats shows the human spirit and when things go bad everyone is there to help,' Rive said.

A GoPro camera on the jumpmaster's wrist survived the impact when the pair crash landed in the lake.

The tandem pair were the last to jump from the plane. They wore compulsory life jackets, but it is unclear if the client's inflated.

* Skydivers injured in crash near Queenstown

* Skydivers who fell 4500 metres in Queenstown in stable and improving condition in hospital

* Queenstown skydivers' crash not affecting business, NZONE manager says**

NZone Skydive executive director Anthony Ritter offered a special thanks to those who saved the jumpmaster, though he'd heard a slightly incorrect version.

'As I understand it he was flying overhead in his helicopter, he saw what happened, he managed to land near his home, jump in a boat and race out and saved our tandem master's life.'

Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) lead investigator Barry Stevenson said evidence would include the GoPro video footage, data recorded by the parachute kit and the parachutes.

He said police were doing a 'recovery operation'. Searching for the missing man did not resume on Thursday, though the police dive squad may use sonar to try to find his body. Police said the lake was about 250 metres deep where the skydivers crashed.

'The timely response in recovering the jump master was critical to ensuring his survival,' Otago Lakes Central area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen said.

'He'd been in the lake for 20 minutes. Obviously survivable time in that lake is quite limited.'

Police were working with consulate staff to advise and support the missing man's next of kin, Jensen said.

Jensen declined to name the nationality of the man but said he was visiting New Zealand by himself and was skydiving as an individual, not with an organised tour group.

Stevenson said his team would speak to witnesses, including the nine pairs who leapt from the plane and the pilot.

'There were some people … on the jump site, who were watching. Some of the other parachuters might have seen something as well.'

Earlier, TAIC said it was investigating a 'possible malfunction of the parachute'.

Ritter said the company was 'devastated' by Wednesday's events.

Operations had been voluntarily suspended at the Queenstown base but the company continued to operate in Wanaka and would reopen in Glenorchy on Friday.

Staff had a counselling session on Thursday afternoon and were 'buoyed' to be joined by the jump master, who was discharged from hospital on Wednesday night, he said.

'Given the nature of the incident he's in remarkably good spirits. He's doing very well and only has a few minor bruises. I met with him today before he went to do his daily yoga session. He's holding up very well.'

The Australian-based parent company of NZone has had a horror few months with three skydivers killed at Skydive Mission Beach in October last year.

In January last year, NZone tandem skydivers Sasa Jojic and Sasa Ljaskevic, both from Serbia, were hospitalised after they crash-landed during a staff training jump. They jumped from 4500 metres and attempted a low turn when coming into land.

Ritter said skydiving was a risky activity. 'We do everything we can to mitigate any such risks.'

On its website NZone claims its approach to safety is 'second to none, with specifically trained parachute packers, an on-site chief safety officer and the directors' first-hand knowledge of the industry.

'Our staff are highly trained and are amongst the most experienced in New Zealand.'

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said past experiences indicated there was unlikely to be any measurable effect on the tourism industry.

'While it's a tragic event, it really doesn't register on a global scale in terms of discouraging any one from coming to New Zealand.'